Since the advent of the personal computer, two things have consistently remained as part of the framework: the keyboard and the mouse as the main input devices.

While the keyboard is going to have to be around for a while longer, at least until voice recognition technology goes up a few more notches, people have consistently been coming up with ways to get rid of the old fashioned mouse. It has gone wireless and comes in many shapes and sizes but the single cursor, driven by a little two three or five button piece of plastic has been the core way of interfacing with the pc since the beginning. While modern touchscreen devices are nice, they are bit of a pain to use in real life for complex interfacing with a modern desktop because your hands just get in the way of what you need to see.

On one of my usual “Stumbles” across the net, I came across a link to a very interesting concept called 10GUI.

10GUI concept

Put simply, it is an idea to create a new computer interface by mixing and matching an “Ipod” style multitouch interface with current mousepad technology. What the creator is proposing is to remove the multi-touch interface from the screen (Mousepad like) and place it below the keyboard but keeping it on a similar scale to the size of the screen. This will allow many more types of gestures using all ten fingers to zoom, open and close windows, switch between applications etc. Instead of the current single cursor point on the screen, you would have up to ten cursors, pinching to zoom in on a drawing for instance, spreading fingers to zoom out etc. The creator has also come up with proposals for a new “Desktop” and “File Manager” and also a proposal for dealing with mulitple open windows (I’m not too impressed with this though, a 3d interface similar to “Cooliris” would be better in my opinion, have a look a the video below to see)

It looks like being a very interesting application, but one of the problems already being foreseen by the creator himself is the nasty habit of some of the current designers of multi touch technology (Apple et al) to attempt to register patents on “Gestures”, (a daft notion in my opinion, how can you patent a gesture?) but there ya go, sense never came into the equation when patents are being fought for.

Mark,
Correct like a graphics tablet but not,
this is able to use ten cursors one for each finger and read gestures to use them for different commands , A Graphics tablet allows one cursor only using the pen (Or mouse) to touch with some having command areas that do not relate to the screen.
Darwin,
Microsoft Surface is just a touchscreen laid down flat and again suffers from the problem that your hands get in the way of what you are seeing so No, this is not like that, it is like taking the touch part of the screen and placing it somewhere else. CSI on the telly has been doing a lot of stuff using touch screens lately.

Brian the touch mice are similar yes. they will be able to deal with five fingers of course, they are a nice concept.

Very Jean Luc Picard, I like the thumb and forefinger thing to *pfft* things with.

It’s not the voice recognition thing I’m waiting for. No.

I’m waiting for your device which 1st reads my mind, then re-reads it to make sure , then discards that idiotic idea, chases the madness away, laughs long and hard at the residue and starts the process again to eventually arrive with the coherent sentence which I must have meant first. Then types without error.